Expository and Works Cited

The Short End of the Stick

The HIV/AIDS epidemic originated in New York and the unknown disease created mass hysteria among homosexuals in New York. Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart exposes the lack of official government response for a disease that affected a small population of Americans: homosexual males and drug users in New York City. Gay New Yorkers were scared because they did not know what the disease was; the only thing they knew was other gays were dying around them and the government was doing nothing. Lawrence K. Altman of the New York Times wrote the first article about this “cancer” in 1981. The ‘80’s should have been spent researching a disease that no one knew about. Altman’s article made the disease public, yet the government’s denial went on for almost a decade. These lawmakers morally disapproved of the lifestyles of gays and drug users who the disease primarily affected. It took the death of Ryan White in 1990 and Earvin “Magic” Johnson’s 1991 early retirement announcement for the government to take action to fight the plague. Through Kramer’s play, human rights, United States politics, and homophobia are prominent factors of how the country dealt with HIV/AIDS and contributed to the death of millions.

Kramer’s Ned Week’s is a loud, vocal speaker who pounces on arguments like an attack dog. As a gay Jew, he equated the government's response to the Holocaust because of their scapegoating of a group of people who lived their lives in ways straight, Christian men did not. What drove this writer to act was the lack of response from the Reagan administration. According to Reagan’s surgeon general, Dr. C Everett Koop, Reagan was left out of the AIDS discussions due to “‘interdepartmental politics” (thinkprogress.org). The administration believed the homosexuals and drug users were getting what they justly deserved. The Reagan administration’s delayed response inhibited researchers from developing drugs, tests, and protocols to treat the disease. If the government had taken the issue seriously from the beginning, then doctors could have saved the lives of thousands, preventing the death of millions.  Ned thought the government was not doing anything to help combat AIDS and saw their slacking as them ignoring the problems that faced gays in New York City.

The U.S. was behind on AIDS research and no one knew how to handle the disease. But Dr. Emma Brookner, Kramer’s determined doctor, was as feisty as Ned to get the country on board to fight the disease. With her research of known cases in New York, Emma tried a medical approach to get the government involved instead of Ned’s confrontational way. According to Emma cases were being reported in Africa where the disease was transmitted heterosexually, and the U.S. was starting to do AIDS research and drug testing in 1986 (AVERT). When the first AIDS drug was developed, it was a small sign of progress. The United States began treating AIDS patients at home and abroad. Some might interpret the Reagan administration’s global efforts as compensation for their lack of initiative to address the issue by helping all countries that have patients with AIDS. This help, however, came too late for some. An issue of human rights was at stake and Emma was conscious of the government’s lack of compassion. The lack of government action led people like her and Ned Weeks to make the public care, because no one within the government was making any sincere efforts to understand the disease until 1986.

All of the characters in The Normal Heart except Dr. Emma Brookner were gay men who were cautious about revealing their sexuality because of homophobic culture. As the disease began to spread, so did homophobia. The idea of scapegoating made Ned and everyone that was still alive around him feel ashamed. The only freedom they were able to express was through sex. Gay men lived in a culture where it was acceptable to be promiscuous. However, in mainstream culture run by straight homophobic males, the gay community becomes an easy target to blame for the epidemic. This scapegoating justifies the homophobia and the denial of human rights.

The Normal Heart is a book about love, politics, and human rights. The events that took place were real and it was highly politicized because of how the disease was transmitted (NCBI). The characters show the issues real men had to face with the government. But one thing they show, which can be overlooked, is how the men felt abandoned and lonely. “The response to AIDS is probably the most striking contemporary example of how intertwined politics, policy, and public health are” (NCBI). It was a complicated time with complicated policies. Kramer recreated a time where people desperately needed the government’s help, but could not receive it because of their sexual orientation. The government abandoned them and gay men had to fight for themselves. It was men and women like Need Weeks and Dr. Emma Brookner who initiated the public awareness and the government finally responded to the public cry. But the response came too late.  

Works Cited

Altman, Lawrence K. “Rare Cancer Seen in 41 Homosexuals.” New York Times 3 July 1981: n. pag. Print.

The C. Everett Koop Papers. U.S. National Library of Medicine. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 May 2015.

“History of HIV and AIDS in the U.S.A.” avert.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 May 2015. <http://www.avert.org/history-hiv-aids-usa.htm>.

Piot, Peter, PhD, Sarah Russell, MA, and Heidi Larson, PhD. “Good Politics, Bad Politics: The Experience of AIDS.” National Datebase. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. U.S. National Library of Medicine. Web. 22 May 2015.

Volsky, Igor. “Recalling Ronald Reagan’s LGBT Legacy Ahead of the GOP Presidential Debate.” thinkprogress.org. N.p., 7 Sept. 2011. Web. 22 May 2015. <http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2011/09/07/313235/recalling-ronald-reagans-lgbt-legacy-ahead-of-the-gop-presidential-debate/>.